March 10, 2009
Students enrolling for their freshman year at St. John’s
University will not only be signing up for an educationally
challenging and personally fulfilling college experience, they’ll
also be getting the very latest in laptop technology.
Thanks to the University’s innovative Academic Computing
Initiative (ACI), which was launched in 2003 to equip every
freshman with a laptop computer, each of the approximately 3,200
first-year students will be receiving a Lenovo ThinkPad X200, an
upgrade of the T61 model distributed to the 2008-09 freshmen class
last September.
The upgrade in laptop models was driven by feedback from a 2008
student satisfaction survey, in which the T61’s weight and battery
life were identified as major issues for student-users. In
comparison to its predecessor, the X200 is lighter (3.4 lbs. vs.
5.3 lbs.), faster (2.40 GHz processor) and has a longer battery
life. It also comes with a 2GB memory, a 160 GB hard drive, a
webcam and microphone, and a 12.1” screen.
Tested by Student Leaders
Before making the decision to go with the X200, St. John’s Information Technology
Department asked eight leaders from Student Government Inc. to
test the new laptop. All are members of the University’s
Information Technology Advisory Committee, a collaboration between
IT and Student
Government, Inc. (SGI) that was formed this year to
address“issues such as campus wireless connectivity, the Laptop
Shop, the new Live @ Edu e-mail platform, and especially the
new Lenovo laptops,” according to SGI Vice President John
Kelly.
Half of the student leaders were given the X200 and half tested
a smaller model.
“The laptops were rated in categories such as battery life,
screen resolution and brightness, speed, internet connectivity,
ability to play music, video, and games, ease in accessing St.
John's Central and other course-related materials, size, weight,
and more,” explains Kelly. “Students kept a ‘journal’ of their
experiences with the [laptops] and sent weekly updates to
IT. We used them in classrooms, at our desks, in our residence
halls, and in the library, as well as other common places for
students to use their laptops: in bed, in cafes, outdoors, and on
the run.”
SGI President Dana Lezama reports that “the entire Executive
Board participated in the test run for about one month.We had the
opportunity to test out two different models. Overall the general
feeling was that the new units were much more convenient(weight,
size, speed and memory capabilities)as well as more efficient” than
laptops currently in use by St. John’s students.Kelly notes that
the X200 has “an awesome screen in terms of brightness, even when
running on battery.” He adds that the battery is “the BEST feature
of the laptop! [It] actually works! It charges within 2-3 hours,
and will work for about 6, depending on what I use.”
SGI Junior Senator Yvette Clairjeane notes that “using the
laptop is relatively easy” and is “great for taking notes in
class...Because this laptop is so portable, I take it everywhere. I
no longer bring notebooks to class…I just type all my notes…I love
this laptop!!!”
All of the students who tested the X200 agreed that startup time
is impressive and that running multiple browsers, applications and
documents is quick and easy.
Students’ comments on their “test-drive” of the new laptop are
in line with professional reviews. In its review
of the X200, NotebookReview.com reports that the laptop is
“ultra-portable” with “a lot to like about it” and offers “better
performance than the X300.” It shares the “same rugged
features,” and has the same size keyboard as the larger ThinkPad
T400 and T500 series. It also, the website says, “packs the same
power.”
Members of the Class of 2013 will receive their light-weight,
ultra-portable Lenovo X200s when they are welcomed into the St.
John’s community at new student orientation this summer.
Another Technology
Enhancement
The laptop upgrade is just the latest step in innovative technology
offered at St. John’s, where an ongoing institutional commitment to
technology has fostered an enhanced learning experience for both
students and faculty. From our campus-wide wireless network to our
student web portal (St. John’s Central); the classroom podiums
equipped with stereo speakers, DVD and VHS capability; the wireless
connections in our classrooms; our student computer labs; the wide
assortment of classroom software; and our expanding catalog of
online courses; the student experience at St. John’s is decidedly
high-tech.
Click here to
learn more about the St. John’s experience.